Office Depot firing has me furious

I'm mad at Office Depot. This morning I read a short article in The Miami Herald about how Office Depot plans to outsource 80 jobs in its finance department in Boca Raton to Guatemala and India.

Office Depot said its finance team has been aware of the plan since January, and that the transition will be completed next summer.

“Office Depot must continually find ways to increase productivity and improve efficiency to stay competitive. This is, in part, a result of weakness in the office supplies sector (one of the hardest-hit retail sectors economically), where sales have been down for four consecutive years,” the company said in a statement.

I completely understand the pressure on a public company to produce financial results. But eliminating 80 white collar jobs will take a toll on the local economy. That's 80 people out of work who won't be able to spend money on Office Depot merchandise or afford the rising food prices.

I can't stand to see jobs leave the United States. I can't stand to see more people unemployed. While most of us struggle to achieve work life balance, I can only imagine the stress in the homes of these 80 people forced to figure out how to find positions that pay anything close to the ones they previously held.

What kind of problems have we created for workers in America when companies feel forced to outsource jobs to workers in other countries to save money.

Readers, what are your thoughts? Are you numb to these kind of financial decisions by companies or does this type of announcement make you as mad as I am?